I've been lookin at upgrading my mac mini core solo to a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo. Can't seem to find out if you can upgrade from a Core Solo to a Core 2 Duo chip, probably 2.13GHz. Also any additional tips from people who have tried this would be great.
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Upgrading Core Solo to Core 2 Duo
- Thread starter BeefUK
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dpaanlka
macrumors 601
Fleetwood Mac
macrumors 65816
Onces the prices come down a bit more, I'd like to do this with my core solo. Once you go ahead with it, make sure you report your experience here. I'd love to read about it.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
It isn't financially sound to put a $400+ 2.16GHz C2D in a Mini right now IMHO, unless you have the CPU laying around or get a crazy good price somewhere. Even the Yonahs are still pretty pricey.
You can get a 1.66 C2D for around 200 bucks, but I doubt that will make a huge difference over your current CPU.
Still, when the price does drop, it will be a very nice upgrade. Ever since they went Intel, the upgrade potential of the Minis jumped quite a bit. And having two DIMM sockets rocks. Just wait till 2GB DIMMs get cheap...😎
You can get a 1.66 C2D for around 200 bucks, but I doubt that will make a huge difference over your current CPU.
Still, when the price does drop, it will be a very nice upgrade. Ever since they went Intel, the upgrade potential of the Minis jumped quite a bit. And having two DIMM sockets rocks. Just wait till 2GB DIMMs get cheap...😎
Dude, the 1.83 C2D is $240 and the 2.0 C2D is $295 from NewEgg.
I would say thst one of those is definitely worth it.
You payed $599 for your Core Solo, right? A Core Duo at the time was $799, and the 1.83 CD right now goes for that much. It was a $200 price difference for CD vs. CS when you first bought- I'd say it's definitely worth $300 more to get a 2.0 C2D.
I'D pay a total of $899 for a Mac Mini that's significantly faster (higher clock AND bigger cache) than even the best one you can buy from Apple right now.
Go for it.
EDIT: By the way, even a Core Duo at the same clock speed as your Core Solo would make a significant difference because, you know, it IS a whole extra CPU core.
I would say thst one of those is definitely worth it.
You payed $599 for your Core Solo, right? A Core Duo at the time was $799, and the 1.83 CD right now goes for that much. It was a $200 price difference for CD vs. CS when you first bought- I'd say it's definitely worth $300 more to get a 2.0 C2D.
I'D pay a total of $899 for a Mac Mini that's significantly faster (higher clock AND bigger cache) than even the best one you can buy from Apple right now.
Go for it.
EDIT: By the way, even a Core Duo at the same clock speed as your Core Solo would make a significant difference because, you know, it IS a whole extra CPU core.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
You are probably looking at the Core Duo prices, not the Core 2 Duo prices...
I was just looking at Newegg, and they price the Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz) at $241.99 and the T7200 (2.0GHz) at $295.49 ($275 if you get an OEM CPU). The 2.16GHz T7400 is a whopping $419.
Still, a Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz would be a nice upgrade.
I was just looking at Newegg, and they price the Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz) at $241.99 and the T7200 (2.0GHz) at $295.49 ($275 if you get an OEM CPU). The 2.16GHz T7400 is a whopping $419.
Still, a Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz would be a nice upgrade.
Ummm.. You just posted the same dollar amounts that I did.
I think that we were both looking at the same processors. 😉
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
Oops....😱
Anyway, as you can see, the 2.16 is probably not worth it. But the others might be. If I was going this route I'd suggest bumping the RAM to 2GB while you're at it, to get the most out of the new CPU.
Anyway, as you can see, the 2.16 is probably not worth it. But the others might be. If I was going this route I'd suggest bumping the RAM to 2GB while you're at it, to get the most out of the new CPU.
bearbo
macrumors 68000
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
Actually, probably not. 😛
You can physically put 2x2GB DIMMs in there, but I don't think it will recognize DIMMs that size. I believe all machines that use that Intel chipset are limited to 3GB RAM (hence the 3GB limit on the iMacs).
I thought that the 2gb limit was due to the core solo/duo chip. Cant you go up to 4gb when you have a C2D?
Theres a good chance I'm wrong, but I could have sworn I heard that somewhere.
Theres a good chance I'm wrong, but I could have sworn I heard that somewhere.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
Maxwell Smart
macrumors 6502a
Yeah, a maxed out mini would be quite the performer. You could even do that mod to use an external large 7,200RPM hd off the internal SATA bus 🙂
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
It would be really sweet if Western Digital were to come out with a 2.5" Raptor for laptops...that would make a great upgrade for a Mini.
I'm still hoping that the next revision of the Mini will have a real embedded GPU, even if it's something old like a GeForce 6200TC. It would make a difference and complement the new, much faster CPUs the Minis now have. I love the G4 (still use one on my main machine), but the Core CPUs are just stunning.
I'm still hoping that the next revision of the Mini will have a real embedded GPU, even if it's something old like a GeForce 6200TC. It would make a difference and complement the new, much faster CPUs the Minis now have. I love the G4 (still use one on my main machine), but the Core CPUs are just stunning.
Maxwell Smart
macrumors 6502a
Yeah, unfortunately, the only bottleneck I can see with a maxed out mini is the GPU 🙁 Everything else would fly.
Chundles
macrumors G5
The chipset allocates memory (around 700MB) above 3.3GB to the I/O so you can put in 4GB but you'll only have 3.3GB addressable memory. Since there are no 3GB RAM sticks, I would suspect Apple have limited BTO configurations to a max of 3GB to ensure that people aren't going to bog their complaint lines down whinging about not being able to have 4GB in a portable/Mac mini/iMac.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
That makes sense. Still, it would be nice to have a DDR Mac that can take 4GB. There are a lot of people that could use 4GB, but don't need twin Xeons.
Yeah thats kind of what I was thinking, hence the 2.13 I mentioned. Have done a bit more research in price, and they aren't as cheap as I originally thought. I don't indend on opening my mini up more than once. I'm not certain I will go ahead and upgrade but just wanted to know if I could.
I was just gonna add more ram, but may as well add a processor and harddrive. Promise to report my findings if I go ahead!
I got the Core Solo for £299 (cheap here in the UK)Cheers for all your comments
Chundles
macrumors G5
Swarmlord
macrumors 6502a
Price of the chip aside, what kind of soldering work is involved in attempting this? The last time I attempted a soldering job to a pin grid array type chip, the heat from the soldering iron made a mess of some of the pads. I was able to get the whole job done, but it wasn't a pretty sight.
Ryan T.
macrumors 6502a
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
The Mini uses a socketed CPU, so no worries - there's no way in hell I'd try to solder one of those! 😱
4JNA
macrumors 65832
works well
did this awhile back, see the thread HERE.
i got a core solo for $400, and felt like the $300 for the T7200 was a decent investment based on return. this thing flies. like kicks the crap out of my g5 kinda fast. and it is silent, and running actually cooler than it was with the core solo. best of luck.
did this awhile back, see the thread HERE.
i got a core solo for $400, and felt like the $300 for the T7200 was a decent investment based on return. this thing flies. like kicks the crap out of my g5 kinda fast. and it is silent, and running actually cooler than it was with the core solo. best of luck.
Time to resurect this thread...
I'm considering buying a Core Solo Mini and upgrading the CPU to a C2D. ZipZoomFly.com has them priced really nicely right now (a little bit over $200).
My question is... which C2D processor type do I get... Desktop or Mobile???
I know the original Mini was basically an iBook motherboard crammed into the Mini case. Is this still the same? Would that suggest the C2D Mobile processor???
Has anyone else tried this recently? I've read some good reports of it being fairly easy to upgrade. The hardest part being getting the case open. I upgraded all the RAM on several minis my old workplace purchased (G4 Minis) without any incidents. You just need a flexy putty knife (and go SLOWLY).
I'm really looking forward to this project. I might even try to get some extra credit in one of my classes for it. Then, when I get enough $$ saved up for a bigger system, I'll move the Mini over to the entertainment center (yet to be built). Minis rock 😀
Thanks!
I'm considering buying a Core Solo Mini and upgrading the CPU to a C2D. ZipZoomFly.com has them priced really nicely right now (a little bit over $200).
My question is... which C2D processor type do I get... Desktop or Mobile???
I know the original Mini was basically an iBook motherboard crammed into the Mini case. Is this still the same? Would that suggest the C2D Mobile processor???
Has anyone else tried this recently? I've read some good reports of it being fairly easy to upgrade. The hardest part being getting the case open. I upgraded all the RAM on several minis my old workplace purchased (G4 Minis) without any incidents. You just need a flexy putty knife (and go SLOWLY).
I'm really looking forward to this project. I might even try to get some extra credit in one of my classes for it. Then, when I get enough $$ saved up for a bigger system, I'll move the Mini over to the entertainment center (yet to be built). Minis rock 😀
Thanks!
You have to get a mobile processor. I recently upgraded my Core Solo to a plain ol' Core Duo (got a good deal), and it's quite a performance increase for CPU-intensive tasks, lemme tell ya.
The install itself is pretty straightforward, you've only gotta be careful on the little pins that hold in the heatsink. I broke off the bottom of one by accident, and had to run out to buy nylon screws/nuts. Not fun.
The install itself is pretty straightforward, you've only gotta be careful on the little pins that hold in the heatsink. I broke off the bottom of one by accident, and had to run out to buy nylon screws/nuts. Not fun.